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Charles Jenner
Rev. Charles Jenner (1736 - 11 May 1774) was an English poet, novelist, and cleric. Life Jenner was the eldest son of Charles Jenner, D.D. (1707–1770), and his wife Mary, the daughter of John Sawyer of Heywood, Berkshire. His father was a graduate of Brasenose College, Oxford (B.A. 1727, M.A. 1730, and B.D. and D.D. 1743), and became rector of Buckworth, Huntingdonshire, in 1740; chaplain to George II in 1746; prebendary of Lincoln in 1753; and archdeacon of Bedford in 1756, and of Huntingdon in 1757. Pecuniary embarrassments ultimately forced him to leave the country, and he died at St. Omer on 2 Feb. 1770. He published a single sermon in 1753. A portrait is in the possession of his great-grandson, Herbert Jenner-Fust, esq., LL.D., of Hill Court, Gloucestershire.Jenner, 320. The son was educated at Pembroke Hall, Cambridge, where he earned a B.A. in 1757 and an M.A. in 1760, but afterwards migrated to Sidney Sussex College. In 1764 he married Rebecca, daughter of William Thomson, but left no issue. In 1769 he was made vicar of the living of Claybrook in Leicestershire, which he held with that of Craneford St. John in Northamptonshire. According to the historian of his parish, his character, manners, and talents were of a high order. He suffered much through his father's imprudence in money matters, but, according to Nichols, he himself was "of an opposite turn." Angus Macaulay in his History of Claybrook, 1791, says that Jenner "had a fine taste for music, and his society was much courted by amateurs of that art," and according to Nichols's Literary Anecdotes he was "a good singer of catches and performer at concerts." He composed and published a song entitled "The Syren," and in his novel The Placid Man, and other of his writings, showed much knowledge of music and musical literature.Jenner, 321. He died of a cold caught at Vauxhall, aged 38. Writing His literary work possesses little originality. His first volume of poems was published in 1766. Another volume of poems, entitled Town Eclogues, was published in 1772; 2nd edit. 1773. He also published separately Louisa: A tale; to which is added, An Elegy to the Memory of Lord Lyttelton. In 1770 he published anonymously his only novel, The Placid Man; or, Memoirs of Sir Charles Beville. This attained considerable success, and was republished with his name in 1773. Besides these he published in 1767 a volume of sketches and essays entitled Letters from Altamont to his Friend in the Country, and two volumes of miscellaneous papers, entitled Letters from Lothario to Penelope, in 1771. This last includes two dramas, Lucinda, a dramatic entertainment, and The Man of Family, a sentimental comedy; both also published separately in 1770 and 1771 respectively. Recognition In 1767 and 1768 he gained the Seatonian Prize at Cambridge for poems on sacred subjects, the first being on The Gift of Tongues, the second on The Destruction of Nineveh. A monument was erected to his memory in Claybrook Church by Lady Craven, with commemorative verses of her own. Publications Poetry *''Poems''. Cambridge, UK: J. Bentham, for T. & J. Merrill, 1766. *''The Gift of Tongues: A poem''. Cambridge, UK: J. Archdeacon, for Thomas & John Merrill, 1767. *''The Destruction of Nineveh: A poem''. Cambridge, UK: J. Archdeacon, for Thomas & John Merrill, 1768. *''Town Eclogues''. London: T. Cadell, 1772. *''Louisa: A tale; to which is added, An elegy to the memory of Lord Lyttelton''. London: T. Cadell, 1774. Play *''The Man of Family: A sentimental comedy''. London: T. Cadell, 1771; Dublin: H. Saunders, et al, 1771.. Novel *''The Placid Man; or, Memoirs of Sir Charles Beville''. (2 volumes), London: J. Wilkie, 1770. Non-fiction *''Letters from Altamont in the Capital: To his friends in the country''. London: T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt, 1767. Collected editions *''Letters from Lothario to Penelope; to which is added Lucinda: A dramatic entertainment''. London: T. Becket and P.A. De Hondt, 1769. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Charles Jenner 1774, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, July 22, 2016. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, July 21, 2016. Notes External links ;Poems *Rev. Charles Jenner (1736-1774) info & 4 poem at English Poetry, 1579-1830 ;About * Jenner, Charles Category:1736 births Category:1774 deaths Category:18th-century poets Category:English clergy Category:English-language poets Category:English novelists Category:English poets Category:Poets Category:Seatonian Prize winners